


Melancholy Lion from Another Planet

by mahoni



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: 1000-5000 Words, Angst, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-12
Updated: 2008-01-12
Packaged: 2017-10-03 07:43:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mahoni/pseuds/mahoni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John thought that if he and Ronon had to be stuck in a ruined amphitheater surrounded by eight-legged blue-feathered lions, at least the view wasn't half bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Melancholy Lion from Another Planet

"Do you think they could have been pets?" Ronon said.

John blinked. "What -- those ugly blue things that want to eat us?"

"It's been hundreds of years since the Wraith destroyed this place. They had plenty of time to turn wild." Ronon hefted his gun, checking the energy level of the pulse clip. "When I was on Sateda the last time, I saw a couple of jiries outside a warehouse. We had one of those when I was a kid."

He propped his gun against his leg and glanced sideways at John. "You ever have a pet?"

John shook his head. "We moved around too much. And my dad didn't like animals."

"A lot of people had pets back home." Ronon shrugged. "After everybody disappeared, I guess the animals had to survive somehow."

John didn't say anything; he didn't know what _to_ say. Life goes on? Right, for alien dogs and cats, but not for all those people who died.

"They didn't run from me," Ronon said. "Just watched me run by. I've wondered if it was because they remembered people."

"Maybe," John said. He wasn't entirely sure where this was going. "Um. Did you -- did you want to go back and get one?"

Ronon raised an eyebrow.

"You know, bring it back to Atlantis..." John trailed off; Ronon was staring at him like he was crazy. "Er. Just a thought."

"No." Ronon snorted. "I don't think they'd like it in Atlantis."

John blew out a breath. "Thank god. Because I don't know how I would have talked Carter into that."

He leaned forward and peered over the edge of the balcony. "Holy crap."

"What?" Ronon moved to look.

John waved a hand, frustrated. "Where the hell did they all come from?"

The pack of gray-blue creatures had almost tripled in number. Those that couldn't fit on the walkway beneath the balcony had scattered themselves down the first several rows of the ancient amphitheater's seats and crumbling steps. Some lay stretched out; others sat cat-like, clawed forefeet primly side by side, their remaining six legs tucked under their bodies. Feathery tails alternately fanned out and collapsed as they stared up at their prey, and even the little ones were eerily silent as they waited.

A few directly below them stood when they saw movement, but when nobody came down to be eaten they relaxed again. A couple yawned.

John pulled back from the edge, keying on his comm. "Teyla, Rodney, how's things going there? Has your pack of blue things cleared out yet?"

"Are you kidding?" Rodney said. "We couldn't be that lucky."

"More have arrived, unfortunately," Teyla said. "They have completely surrounded the building now."

John sighed. "Yeah, we're having a similar problem. Are you still safe?"

"Define 'safe,'" Rodney grumbled.

"We are safe, John," Teyla said. "The door is holding, and the animals remain unable to reach the windows from the outside."

"Okay, just sit tight. We'll check in again in a bit.

"Great," he said, slumping against the wall. "Looks like we'll be here a while."

Ronon was still looking down into the amphitheater. "Maybe we could take out all of ours from up here and then go for Teyla and Rodney."

"Waste of ammo. And we don't know how many more of them might be out there between us and the gate. And what if we blow all our ammo on those little bastards just in time for the Wraith to show up?"

"We can't just sit here," Ronon said. Tension cut an angry edge on his voice. It generally only took Ronon about five minutes trapped in one place for him to catch cabin fever.

"Yes we can." Shrugging off his vest and his jacket, John bunch the jacket up and stuffed it behind his back. "Look, we're due back in a couple of hours. When we don't show up Carter will dial the planet, and we can ask her to send a jumper."

Ronon scooted back and slouched next to him. "I hate waiting."

"I've noticed."

They sat in silence for a while. The orange-red sun began to curve toward the horizon, bronzing both the sky and the sea. John thought that if they had to be stuck in a ruined amphitheater surrounded by eight-legged blue-feathered lions, at least the view wasn't half bad. Ronon just fidgeted.

"One time," Ronon said finally. "I got chased up a tree by these two things -- slimy things, huge, big teeth. I'd just gotten to the planet, I had no idea how long until the Wraith would track me down, and I was stuck in a damn tree. They wouldn't leave, and if I made a move to get down they were right there under me."

"How long?"

"Day and a half."

John winced. "Yikes."

"And then a couple of Wraith showed up and walked right up to my tree, thinking they'd caught me." He grinned. "I ran for the gate while the slimy things ate them."

John snorted. "Cool. I like a happy ending."

"Yeah." Ronon stood and stretched, and propped his hands on his hips, staring down at the blue creatures. "While I was stuck up there I killed time by carving names into the tree. My wife's name. The names of the men and women who were in my squad. My family, my friends. The names of everyone I could remember."

For the second time in about ten minutes John was lost for words. He didn't say anything while Ronon settled back down beside him. Digging in one of his vest pockets, he pulled out a battered pack of cards bound with a rubber band.

"Well," he said. "I have cards. You want to play blackjack?"

Ronon looked at him, half-smiling in a way that only looked about fifty percent happy. John waggled the deck temptingly until the smile finally widened.

"I like Go Fish," Ronon said, taking the cards.

John rolled his eyes. "That's a kid's game."

"So? I like it."

"Fine. Just deal."

*

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the (translation of the) poem "El Leon" by Pablo Neruda, which contains the following passage:
> 
> Melancholy lion from another planet  
> cast up by the high tide  
> to the small rocky islands of Isla Negra,  
> the salty archipelago,  
> with no more than an empty snout,  
> idle claws  
> and a tail of ragged feathers.


End file.
